Tell Me What You Want Me To Say
by bjames238
Summary: Damon and Elena have been together almost their whole lives. They know each other, they love each other fiercely . . . so why does it seem as though their marriage is falling apart? Will they find their way back to each other or . . . will their story not find its way to an epilogue? A.U. / A.H.
1. Prologue: I Believe The Faithful Fell

**Tell Me What You Want Me To Say**

Damon/Elena A.U./A.H.

Summary: Damon and Elena have been together almost their whole lives. They know each other, they love each other fiercely . . . so why does it seem as though their marriage is falling apart? Will they find their way back to each other or . . . will their story not find its way to an epilogue?

Author's note: All titles (both the story title and the chapters of titles) are lines of lyrics from songs. 'Tell Me What You Want Me To Say' comes from the Florence & The Machine song "No Light, No Light." And the prologue title 'I Believe The Faithful Fell' comes from the La Rocca song "Nonbeliever."

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or the characters (except for the ones i made up). I also don't own the song titles or lyrics i may use to interpret Damon and Elena's love story.

PROLOGUE: I BELIEVE THE FAITHFUL FELL

Love doesn't just disappear – not completely. Not for two people who've known each other their whole lives and go from playmates to friends to lovers to partners. Not for this man and this woman who are everything to each other and have gone through thick and thin together. Their love is pure and destined and fated and written in the stars.

If they can't find each other again . . . what hope do the rest of us have?

_flashback_

_"__Elena, sweetheart, these are the Salvatore boys," Miranda Gilbert held her two-year-old daughter's hand as the tyke stood behind her mother's skirts – peeking out at the new people. The young girl fisted her favorite pink and purple blanket tightly, holding it over half her face._

_In the other room, Miranda's husband Grayson and Giuseppe Salvatore were catching up after fifteen years apart since college. Giuseppe had recently moved his boys back to Mystic Falls for a fresh start after losing his wife Guliana a few months before._

_"__Hi – I's Damon," The elder Salvatore boy smiled very charmingly for his five years at the little girl across the room. Elena smiled for a brief moment before hiding completely behind her mother's legs and the blanket. Miranda chuckled at her shy little girl. The other Salvatore boy who was the same age as Elena – Stefan – sat on the floor beside his brother playing with a toy train. Young Damon leaned over to pick up one of the trains his brother wasn't playing with. Then he held it out, smiling again. "Play with me, 'Lena?"_

_Miranda smiled, amused with how cute and bold this small boy was and how shy her usually boisterous little girl was. Elena let out a deep breath, still holding on to the fabric of her mother's skirt. "Go on, honey, it's okay. Go play with the boys while I check on your brother." Miranda stepped back, gently pushing Elena forward toward the boys. _

_Elena cautiously stepped forward one step, her thumb now in her mouth as she started to suck on the little finger. The girl turned back to her mother, who nodded. Letting out another breath, Elena faced the front and stepped forward more. Little Stefan was quiet, oblivious to his brother and the girl next to him. _

_ "Train for you," Damon held the train out again, and this time Elena grabbed on to it with the hand that wasn't in her mouth. Damon smiled victoriously and Miranda quietly chuckled from the other side of the room. The mother swiftly left the room, leaving care of the children to the slightly oversized sleeping golden retriever – Scruffles – in the corner of the room while she went to the nursery to check on her six-month-old son Jeremy. _

_Meanwhile, Elena held the train and sucked on her thumb – not quite sure what to do with this 'train' now that she had it. She stared back and forth between Damon and the train in her hand. Damon just stared at her too, raising his eyebrows. Finally, the elder boy let out a frustrated huff of breath._

_He plopped down on the floor next to his brother – who didn't even flinch – and picked up two more trains. "Like this." He crashed the front of the trains together, making a sound effect as of a real crash._

_Elena immediately starting giggling, dropping her thumb and letting her blanket fall to the floor. A few seconds later her butt followed her blanket's path and she excitedly landed on the floor with a harsh thud. For a moment her eyes started to water from the unexpected pain but then Damon burst out laughing too and her tears went away. The pain forgotten, she crashed her train into the one in Damon's hand. Both Damon and her laughed again as Damon's train was knocked out of his hand to the floor. _

_Elena picked up her blanket and giggled again, laughing as Damon decided to return the favor and knock little Stefan's train out of his hands. Stefan's face reddened for a moment but when he saw Damon and Elena laughing, he started laughing too. Now, all three tykes were laughing hysterically as they continued knocking the trains out of each other's hands._

_Then Elena looked up at Damon and stopped laughing. Her big, brown, doe eyes widened in wonder. Damon noticed she'd stopped laughing and he did too, also staring at her. Elena pointed at him, eyes still wide and jaw dropped, and one word fell from her tiny lips: "Boo . . ."_

_Damon raised his eyebrow. "Huh? __" __He looked at Stefan, who was still laughing and playing with the trains. Elena's finger still pointed at Damon._

_It was then that Miranda descended the stairs with little Jeremy in her arms. She saw that the kids were sitting together and smiled. She glanced at the dog, who snored away in his own little world._

_ "Boo . . ." Elena spoke again, this time more firmly – still pointing at Damon._

_Miranda stopped in her tracks, frozen by her daughter's first word. She walked over to the kids, rocking her sleeping son in her arms. "What was that, honey?"_

_Elena smiled, pointing at Damon, and turned her head to face her mommy. "Boo." She giggled._

_"__What's she saying, huh Damon?" Miranda chuckled, amused by her daughter's sudden verbal activity._

_Little Damon shrugged. Elena's eyes furrowed, frustrated. She pointed again, "Boo!" Damon looked back and forth between Elena and Miranda, confused. He blinked his little eyes, unsure of what to do._

_"__What's going on, honey?" Grayson spoke as he and Giuseppe entered the room._

_"__Elena's talking!" Miranda told him and he smiled. "But . . . I can't figure out what she's trying to say."_

_"__Boo!" Elena shouted angrily, still pointing at Damon._

_"__Son, do you know what she's saying?" Guissepe asked his son._

_Damon just shrugged. "No, papa." _

_Elena let out a frustrated groan and dropped her blanket and the train. She crawled over by the elder boy and trampled over him. She pushed her fingers in his face near his eyes, practically poking his eyes out. He pushed her away just enough so she wasn't in his face and she giggled. "Boo."_

_"__Oh!" Miranda nodded, chuckling. "Damon's eyes . . . they're blue. That's what she's saying: blue."_

_"__So her first word is blue?" Grayson said. Miranda just shrugged. "Well, guess we don't have to fight over whether she'll say mama or dada first."_

_"__Boo!" Elena giggled and Damon started tickling her. Miranda and Grayson and Giuseppe all glanced at each other as they watched the children play. _

_"__Boo!" Damon repeated, still tickling her, and Elena continued to giggle._

_end flashback_

Elena Salvatore stared at the toy trains on the tray of her child's high chair and let out a melancholy sigh. When she was a little girl she'd never expected her life to turn out this way. She'd never planned on being a probably-soon-to-be single mother. No, her plan from little on had been to spend the rest of her life with her best friend and, well, she'd almost gotten that.

"Mom, we're going to be late for school!" Her thirteen year old son, Michael, ran through the room and out the front door. Moments later, her ten year old son Alexander followed his brother out the door as well.

Elena glanced at the clock on the coffee pot and her eyes widened. "Shit!" She exclaimed. Across the room in his high chair, her four year old son Daniel crushed his cheerios with his toy train.

"Bad word!" Daniel giggled, still crushing his cereal.

"Mommy didn't say anything," She sighed, hoping he wouldn't pick up on that. She gathered her keys and her purse and Daniel's backpack. "Charlie! We gotta go, baby!" She shouted for her middle son, the seven year old.

"Coming, Momma!" Charles appeared a few moments later – dressed in his usual mismatched outfit with his Batman backpack on his shoulder.

Elena smirked, regarding the black and purple striped shirt and red and blue plaid shorts. Then there was the two different shoes and two different socks. "Ready, baby?" Elena said. Charlie nodded. "Okay, can you take your brother's backpack for me please?"

The boy held out his hands and took his little brother's Blue's Clues backpack in hand. "Okay, we're set to go."

Elena put her purse over her shoulders, put her keys in her jeans pocket, and went over to her youngest. "Hey baby boy, it's time to go to school." She picked up the train and handed it to Charlie. Then she released the tray of the highchair and set it on the kitchen table. She unlatched the chair seat belt and picked little Danny up. She held him on her hip and his eyes went wide.

"School?" He said and when his mother nodded he smiled. "Yay, school!"

"You're so cute, baby boy," Elena chuckled.

The three of them set out of the house and Elena locked it behind her and pushed in the code for the alarm. Mikey and Alex were already in the minivan. Mikey was in the front seat impatiently texting away on his phone while Alex was in the back playing with his gameboy.

"Momma, when's Daddy coming home?" Charlie asked as he got in the van.

Elena strapped Danny into his booster seat, a pang of complete unbearableness striking her heart. She swallowed her sadness, trying to keep her composure. She refused to cry in front of her boys. She gulped. "Daddy's on a business trip, remember? He won't be home for a couple of weeks."

Charlie pouted, "Weeks?!"

"Why so long?" Alex grumbled.

Mikey turned around, "What the hell, he said he'd take me to the hockey game next weekend!"

"Mikey, you watch your mouth!" Elena scolded. "I'm sorry boys, but we know how this works. Your dad will be home when he gets home, okay?" The boys were quiet as Elena got in the driver's seat and started the minivan. As she drove down the long road of the driveway and turned onto the main road, she glanced at Mikey. He was still on his phone – no doubt complaining to his friends that he wasn't going to the game anymore. She sighed. "Maybe your Uncle Stefan will take you to the game, okay?"

Mikey sighed, "Yeah, maybe . . ."

A ringing sound filled the van and Elena recognized the ring tone. "Mikey, baby, can you dig out my phone from my purse and put it on speakerphone please?"

He grumbled but did it anyway. He pulled the phone out and made a face. "It's Aunt Kat."

"Mikey, just answer it and put it on speaker please," Elena sighed. Sure, her younger sister was a lot to handle but she still loved her. Her eldest boy, however, didn't really get along with her for whatever reason. Elena still remembered the day she found out she had a sister.

_flashback_

_Jenna Sommers held her five-year-old niece Elena in her arms while Miranda and Grayson sat nervously on the couch across the room. Jenna bounced little Elena up and down and the girl giggled._

_"__Jenna, I'm not sure I like this." Miranda swallowed, her hand on her knee._

_ "I think it'll be good for Elena," Grayson held on to his wife's hand and gave it a supportive squeeze._

_"__It'll be fine, Miranda," Jenna assured her sister as she put Elena on her hip. _

_Young Elena giggled, grabbing on to a chunk of her aunt's hair. "Jen play wit me!"_

_Jenna pulled her hair out of her niece's grasp. "Hey Elena . . . you have someone new to play with today."_

_ "Boo?" Elena stared at her aunt quizzically, using the nickname she'd given to her favorite playtime buddy, the now eight-year-old Damon Salvatore._

_At this, the three adults smiled, knowing how quickly Elena had become attached to the elder boy and vice versa._

_"__Someone new, sweetie," Jenna chuckled. "But you can still play with Damon and Stefan and Jeremy too." Elena just stared, not really understanding what her aunt was saying._

_The doorbell interrupted, and the dog barked. "Hush, Scruffles!" Grayson scolded and jumped up to answer the door. The dog stopped barking and pouted out of the room. _

_At the sound of the doorbell again, little Elena's eyes went wide and her mouth formed an "o" of surprise. The girl looked to her aunt. "Who dat?" Jenna giggled. _

_Grayson opened the door. On the doorstep stood Alaric Saltzman – Jenna's new 'special friend' and the new history teacher at the high school. "Nice to see you again, buddy." Grayson shook Alaric's free hand._

_"__Thanks for having me over, Grayson." Alaric nodded. "Especially with this new . . . situation."_

_"__Yeah, no problem. We're all family now, Ric." Grayson stepped aside. "Come on in."_

_Alaric held on to the car-seat in his hand with both arms. Upon seeing a now standing Miranda, Alaric nodded. "Hello, Miranda."_

_"__Hello, Alaric," Miranda smiled softly as she let out a nervous sigh._

_Alaric walked further into the room, letting the diaper bag on his shoulder gently fall to the floor beside the coffee table. He turned around and saw Jenna, freezing in his step. A goofy grin appeared on his face. "Hey, Jenna." _

_"__Alaric," Jenna greeted, blushing slightly. She adjusted Elena on her hip._

_Miranda and Grayson glanced at each other, sharing a knowing smile. Grayson cleared his throat. Jenna and Alaric were still staring at each other._

_A cry from the car seat in Ric's arms broke the two perspective lover's thrall. Jenna and Ric blinked. In Jenna's arms, Elena's eyes were wide. "Baby!" The little tyke gasped._

_Jenna blushed again. "Elena, sweetie, this is my friend Alaric."_

_"__'Larc?" Elena tested the name on her tongue._

_Everyone chuckled. Alaric chuckled. "A little tough to say, huh kiddo? Trust me, it wasn't easy growing up with it either."_

_"__What about 'Ric'?" Jenna said. "Elena, can you say Ric?"_

_"__Rik," Elena said, her c turning into a hard k._

_"__Works for me," Ric shrugged. The baby in his arms fussed again. "Oh boy, I'd hoped she'd sleep a little longer."_

_"__It's fine," Jenna said. "Now Elena can meet her."_

_Elena pointed at the car-seat. "Baby! Jer?" _

_The adults laughed. "No, sweetie, your brother is upstairs sleeping." Miranda said._

_"__Who baby then?" Elena asked._

_Alaric set the car-seat down on the floor and unstrapped the child inside. "Elena, this is my daughter__―__Katherine."_

_"__Katty?" Elena giggled. "Kitty . . ."_

_Jenna knelt on the floor beside Ric and Elena reached for baby Katherine. "Elena, honey, there's something we want to tell you about Katherine."_

_Miranda sucked in a breath and Grayson wound his arm around her waist, holding her close to him._

_"__Sweetie, you were adopted. You have another set of parents that you came from," Jenna explained._

_"__More Mommies and Daddies?" Elena raised her little eyebrow._

_"__No, Elena," Jenna shook her head. "Your brother Jeremy came from his real mommy's tummy__―__from Miranda." Miranda bit her bottom lip. _

_"__And my daughter Katherine came from her mommy's tummy__―__my wife Isobel." Alaric said._

_"__Me come from Mommy's tummy too," Elena reached for her mother__―__for Miranda._

_Miranda stepped forward and sighed, bending down to take her daughter from her sister's hold. She picked Elena up and held her on her hip. "No, sweetie. You came from your first mommy's tummy__―__Her name was Isobel."_

_"__Dat Katty's mommy," Elena said, confused._

_"__Yes," Alaric nodded. "You and Katherine have the same Mommy."_

_"__Mommy not my mommy?" Elena bit her lip, tears forming in her eyes._

_"__Yes, sweetie. I'm still your mommy. You just didn't come from my tummy." _

_Elena sniffled. "Why?" _

_"__It's hard to explain, sweetie, but I promise when you're older you'll understand." Miranda told her, holding her tight in a hug._

_"__Daddy still my daddy?" Elena sniffled. _

_"__Yes and no," Miranda sighed._

_"__Rik my daddy too?" Elena said._

_Alaric's eyes widened. "No . . . kiddo, it's hard to explain. I hadn't known Isobel when you were born and . . . she never told me about you."_

_Elena's little yes brightened. "Katty be my Jer too?"_

_The adults chuckled. Miranda hugged her again. "No, Katherine isn't your brother like Jeremy is." Elena's face fell. "Katherine is your sister – your little sister."_

_"__Sisser . . ." Elena tried out the word. "Me play with Katty?"_

_"__Well," Alaric said. "She's a little tiny right now – she's only four months old. All she really does is eat and sleep and go to the bathroom."_

_"__Oh," Elena nodded. "When Katty older?" _

_"__Yes," Miranda nodded. "You can play with your little sister all you want when she's older." _

_"__Yay!" Elena cheered. _

_All the adults sighed in relief – first meeting of the new sisters was a success._

_End flashback_

Back in the present, the phone still rang as Elena drove her boys to school. Her first few months were her little sister hadn't been very exciting. But once Katherine – or 'Katty' as Elena had affectionately called her for years later even if she didn't like it – had gotten older the two half-siblings were as close as siblings could be. Elena was even closer to Katherine than she was Jeremy or Stefan. Damon and Elena's bond, however, always stayed stronger than their relationships with anyone else.

Of course, that could be part of the reason Stefan and Katherine were so close.

Elena blinked, remembering that the phone was still ringing. "Mikey answer it" She let out a breath, slightly annoyed.

"Alright, geez," The preteen sighed, pushing the talk and speakerphone buttons.

"Hey sis!" Katherine's high-pitched squeal echoed through the minivan.

"Hey, Katherine," Elena said. "Say hi to the boys, you're on speaker."

"My handsome nephews aren't getting into trouble, are we?"

"No, Aunt Katherine," Mikey, Charlie, and Alex said at the same time.

"Good boys," Katherine said. Mikey rolled his eyes. "Michael Grayson I can hear you roll your eyes!"

Elena chuckled as Mikey sank in his seat. In the back, young Danny looked around confused – probably trying to find where the familiar voice was coming from. "Katty!" Danny giggled.

"Hey there, little man." Katherine said. "Did your mommy tell you to call me that? She used to call me that all the time when we were little 'cuz she couldn't say my full name."

"What's with the early morning call, Kat? Aren't you usually at class by this time?" Elena said.

"Yeah, but . . ." Elena's younger sibling squealed again. Elena smirked. "I took today off. Or actually we both did. Stefan's here too."

"Hi Elena, hi boys," Stefan's voice appeared.

"Hey Stefan," Elena said. "What, are you both sick?"

"No, Elena, we're not sick." Stefan said. Elena could hear Katherine whisper and giggle in the background. "Actually, we―"

"No, let me tell her!" Katherine cut in. "Please?!"

"Okay, baby," Stefan sighed.

"We're engaged!" Katherine squealed louder than before, laughing. "Stefan finally proposed!"

"Congratulations, guys," Elena smiled sadly, remembering when Damon had proposed to her.

"We're getting married in six months and guess what big sis?" Katherine said.

"What's that?" Elena turned the corner, sighing.

"You tell her, babe," Katherine said.

"Okay," Stefan said. "Elena, we would like Damon and you to be the Best Man and Maid―I'm sorry Matron of Honor." Katherine squealed again and Stefan laughed.

Elena heart instantly fell in her chest. A wedding that Damon and she would be half responsible for? Working with Damon on the wedding? With everything that was going on between them?

"Elena?" Katherine said. "What do ya say, will you help me get married?"

Elena swallowed, trying to hold her composure. Must not cry – don't cry!

"Mom?" Mikey gave his mom a worried look.

Elena blinked, letting out a deep breath. "Y-Yes, of course. I'd love to be your Matron –of-Honor."

"Thank you so much sis – you have no idea how much this means to me, to us."

"Yeah, thanks Elena. You're just as much a sister to me as Damon is my brother." Stefan said. "Do you think he'll want to be my Best Man?"  
"I know he'd be honored to," Elena nodded, still trying to hold her tears in.

"Mom, we're at the school," Mikey said quietly.

"What? Oh, right." Elena blinked again, turning into the school parking lot "Stefan, Kat, can I call you back later? We're at the school."

"Yeah, sure." Stefan said. "We'll let you know more details later. Oh, and don't say anything to Damon – I'll let him know myself."

"Sounds good." Elena sighed. "Bye guys."

"Bye! Bye kids," Stefan and Katherine shouted – Katherine was still giggling.

Mikey hung up the phone and put it back in his mom's purse. The three older boys filed off and ran into the school as Elena got out to unstrap Danny.

_to be continued . . ._


	2. Chapter1:Falling Apart, Barely Breathing

**Tell Me What You Want Me To Say**

Damon/Elena A.U./A.H.

Author's note: Okay, here's chapter one. Chapter title comes from Lifehouse's song "Broken." Hope you all enjoy. :)

CHAPTER ONE: FALLING APART, BARELY BREATHING

_Flashback_

_"So this is it, then?" Elena's voice was quiet yet shaky as she sat at her vanity brushing her hair. "Four children, nearly more than twelve years of marriage, and almost a lifetime of friendship – down the drain."_

_"We agreed on this together," Damon sighed. He sat on the bed, sorting through his briefcase of paperwork for the office._

_"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Elena grumbled, still brushing her long chocolate locks._

_"Same here," Damon put the last of the documents in his briefcase. "But what other option do we have? We can't go four hours without fighting. Do you really want the boys to see that all the time?"_

_"Of course not," Elena put the brush down. "But won't seeing us apart affect them more? And what about our friends . . ."_

_"Jesus Christ, Elena! I don't know, okay." Damon shouted, growling._

_"Sshh! You'll wake the boys," Elena scrunched her brow._

_Damon groaned. "What do you suggest we do, then? Neither of us are happy like this. We can't even agree on whether or not to separate, for crying out loud." He stood, picking up the briefcase and carried it over to the table by the door where he always kept it._

_Elena let out a deep breath. "How did we get here, Damon?" She glanced at the picture of them on her vanity – it was the day Mikey was born. Damon and she sat in the hospital bed with Elena holding Mikey between them. They were smiling, kissing – happy. _

_Damon went over to the closet and pulled out a garment bag – one of his suits – passing by the picture of them on the wall . . . them on their wedding day. Mikey had been the ring bearer at just seven months old – so cute in his little baby tux._

_"We were so happy, so in love. Always close – since the day you knocked that toy train out of my hand." Elena sniffled._

_Damon sighed. "I have to go to New York for a few weeks, probably longer . . . maybe that's a good time to test the separation. Take some time to think about things." _

_"Right," Elena huffed. "So you get to go to New York and test the single life while I have to stay here and take care of *your* children. Great plan, Damon. It's a win-win for sure." _

_"Elena . . ." Damon let out a frustrated breath._

_"No, don't," Elena shook her head, sniffling. "So you're just going to leave us?" She cried, wiping her eyes._

_"I can't do this anymore," Damon sighed. "I hate fighting with you – I hate that I'm hurting you right now." _

_"So don't," She shook her head, standing. "Don't leave. I'll do anything, just don't leave me. Please Damon__―__" She cried, collapsing on the bed. "Please, baby, I love you. Don't you love me?" _

_Damon walked over to the bed and bent over, wrapping his arm around her convulsing form as he knelt on the bed next to her. "Honey, please stop crying. You know that I love you." _

_"No, you don't," She cried, looking away from him and burrowing her tear-stained face into the comforter. "You're leaving. You don't love me – you probably never did. God, I'm so stupid!"_

_Damon groaned in frustration, picking her up and holding her on his lap. "Damnit woman! You're infuriating!"_

_"No, stop it . . . let me go. Just let me go, you don't love me!" She struggled against his strong arms but he held her just tight enough so he wasn't hurting her but she couldn't get away._

_"Elena, stop – just listen to me!" Damon held her shoulders firm so their faces were just inches apart. She froze – silent, tears still running down her face. "Elena Maria Salvatore – I am so in love with you. I've loved you from the moment I met you, poking your shy little beautiful face from behind your mother's skirt." _

_"Then why do we fight?" She whimpered._

_Damon let out a half-ass laugh. "I don't know, baby." _

_"Then don't go," She sniffled, hugging him, squeezing him. "Please, don't go." _

_Damon dropped his arms but she held on tight. He let out a deep breath as he looked away. "I have to go. They need me to push this merger through."_

_She sniffled, wiping her eye as her lips curled into a sneer. "Fine . . . if you'd rather save your precious company than save your marriage – whatever." _

_"Elena . . ."_

_"No!" She shouted. "I'm done. I'm sick and tired of that company stealing my husband from me. I'm finished – you don't want to be in this marriage then guess what: Neither do I." _

_"I never said that," Damon shook his head, sighing. "I said we should take some time apart." _

_"Just call it what it is, div__―__"_

_"No!" This time Damon shouted. "You do not get to just decide that this is over. No . . . I will go to New York and finish this merger. You will stay here in Mystic Falls and Stefan and Katherine and Caroline and Tyler and Bonnie and Jeremy and Matt and April will help you with the boys – alright?" Elena didn't say anything. "And when I return we'll go to a counselor or a vacation or any fucking thing that is going to save this marriage." He huffed, panting. "You got it, Mrs. Salvatore?" _

_Elena glared at him, disdain on her still tear-stained face. "You got it, *Mr. Salvatore*." _

_End flashback_

Elena sighed, watching Danny play on the floor in the living room. She'd just gotten home from picking him up from his preschool. He was only at school for half the day whereas the elder three boys were at school all day.

The day that Damon told her he was going to New York still felt like a nightmare. He left the morning after and they had talked since – Today was the twenty-third day he'd been gone.

The boys had talked to their father on the phone and skyped through the webcam but Damon always found a way out of talking to her. Not that she cared – he wasn't exactly her favorite person right now either.

The sound of her phone ringing startled her from her thoughts. She picked it up of the table and answered it. "Elena Salvatore speaking."

"Mrs. Salvatore, it's Mr. Browning." The voice spoke.

Elena sighed – Allen Browning, her publisher. "Hello, Mr. Browning. I'm sorry I haven't called you . . ."

"Well, I just wanted to check in on you . . . see how you're doing and all . . ." Mr. Browning trailed off.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sorry Mr. Browning it's just been busy here at home with the boys and my husband and now my sister's getting married . . ."

"Mrs. Salvatore, when we started this project five years ago you told me that you had the time for this." Mr. Browning said.

"I know, I did say―"

"We all have deadlines, Mrs. Salvatore. This may be your second novel but the first one didn't do nearly half as well as we expected. So . . . we need this second one to be good and we need it now."

Elena swallowed down the tears that threatened to fall. She knew Mr. Browning could be an ass but why was he being so harsh? "I'm sorry . . ."

"Look, maybe I can get you some kind of extension. How much do you have done? Maybe, what, five to six chapters? That I can work with," Mr. Browning sighed.

Elena inwardly whimpered, glancing to her office door where she knew she hadn't even started. Hell, she'd barely started organizing notes. She couldn't tell him that . . . she'd lose the publishers for sure. "Y-ye―um, yes. Just about there, yes." She stumbled.

"Fine." Mr. Browning huffed. "I'll see what I can do."

"T-Thank you," Elena swallowed.

"Yeah, yeah . . . get to work, Mrs. Salvatore." With a final click, her publisher hung up.

Elena listened to the dead air, frozen. A tear slipped down her cheek but she quickly wiped it away. She'd promised herself a long time ago that she'd never ever let her boys see her cry. In fact, other than her parents and Aunt Jenna, the only other person who'd ever seen her really cry was Damon.

Her heart jumped painfully thinking of him so she swallowed that down too. She turned off her cell phone and wiped away the last of her tears. She needed to focus on something other than her failing marriage or current lack of writing ability.

She pressed the two for speed dial on her cell phone and let it ring.

"Elena?"

"Hey Kat, I've got a few hours before I pick up the boys from school. How about we do some wedding stuff? Elena said, sighing. In the last two weeks Elena had put it off, always telling her younger sister she was busy and didn't have time. Now, though, it would actually be a welcome distraction from everything else.

"Really?" Katherine sounded hopeful.

"Yeah. I've got Danny, but we'll be over in a few minutes. Okay?" Elena said.

"Sure, sounds great big sis." Katherine said, the tell-tale squeal leaking out a bit.

"See you in a few, Kat." Elena hung up. She let out a deep breath. "Danny, baby." Her youngest looked up from his toys. "Should we go visit Auntie Katherine?"

A grin grew on Danny's face from ear to ear . . . he adored his auntie.

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

Damon slung his suit coat over his shoulder and set his briefcase on the floor. Behind him, the elevator door closed with a ding. He pulled out his key card and unlocked the penthouse suite he was staying in.

He looked at the watch on his wrist – forty minutes after midnight. Sighing, he yawned as he picked up his briefcase again and brought it just inside the door as it swung shut.

The meeting had run way longer than he'd planned. Actually, every meeting was going longer than planned. The last three weeks had been nothing but _endless_ meetings . . . .

His eyes caught sight of the two photo frames on his bedside table – one of his beautiful wife on their wedding day and one of their rowdy boys from last Christmas.

He let out a sigh, twirling the silver band on his ring finger. God, he missed his family . . .

"Mr. Salvatore?"

Damon jumped, dropping his coat on the floor. Who the fuck was in his suite?

A pair of long, smooth, feminine legs appeared in the doorway of the bathroom.

Damon's eyes narrowed. What the fuck? His first thought was that Elena showed up to surprise him but no . . . his wife's legs were a beautiful olive color. These legs . . . they were a deathly pale white.

"Excuse me, how did you get in here?" Damon let out an angry breath. He definitely wasn't in the mood for this.

"Surprise . . ." A sultry female voice accompanied the pale legs.

Damon shook his head. "Out."

More of the pale legs appeared, showing pale knobby knees and stick-thin thighs and . . . the black hem of what Damon was pretty sure was one of his dress shirts. Blonde curls revealed themselves and the face of someone Damon hadn't the slightest clue who she was.

"Mr. Salvatore, I'm here for you. Mr. Lockwood said―"

"Mason? Shit . . ." Damon growled. "Damn punk kid . . ." Damon shook his head again. "Look, I don't know who you are or what you're expecting here but this is a mistake."

"But Mr. Lockwood said I could make you happy . . ." The blonde pouted.

"I am happy!" Damon held up his hand, pointing to his wedding ring. "Happily _married!_"

"Well, that doesn't bother me. We don't have to tell anyone if you want." The blonde shrugged.

Damon fumed. "You want to make me happy? Get out!" He shouted. "Go to college, find another job – you're his secretary right? Be better than fucking Mason trust-fund Lockwood." The girl froze. Damon rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm sorry that Mason mislead you, but I have no interest in cheating on my wife or doing that to my boys."

"Gee, I'm sorry . . ." She pouted.

"Yeah, it's fine. Just . . ." He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "Go get dressed and get out of here."

The girl shrugged, strolling over to the bed. She picked up the frame of Elena. "This your wife?" Damon nodded, his blood boiling – who did this _girl_ think she was just showing up in his suite, wearing his clothes, touching the picture of his _wife . . ._ "She's pretty." The girl stated, disinterested. "I can see why you're not interested in me. Blonde hair and pale skin seem to be the opposite of your taste in women. What is she? Greek? Italian?"

"Her ancestors are actually from Bulgaria," Damon sighed. Why couldn't this chick just leave?

"Oh," Blonde chick nodded, putting down the frame of Elena and picking up the one of the boys. Damon cringed – first his wife's photo and now their children? "Lucky man . . . with four boys very close in age. And they look like you too. Damn, not only do you have a hot wife but you've knocked her up four times."

Damon growled low in his throat . . . he didn't like the way this girl was talking about Elena and his very private life.

"So . . . I just have one question for you. Why are you in a New York penthouse suite with me and not in Suburbia with your exotic wife and perfect little stepford children?"

Damon swallowed, unable to answer. _Good fucking question,_ he thought.

"Okay, I'm going. Just curious and – a little jealous of Mrs. Hot CEO." She put the picture down and disappeared back in the bathroom. She came out moments later dressed in a grey pencil skirt, white blouse, and high heels. She tossed Damon his shirt. "See you, Mr. Salvatore. If you ever get bored in Suburbia, look me up. And I guess that Lockwood guy doesn't know you as well as he thinks he does." Without another word, the blonde was out the door.

The first thing Damon did after she left was burn the shirt.

_Flashback_

_Eleven-year-old Damon entered the Gilbert house with his father and younger brother behind him. He flinched as his eyes instantly caught sight of an eight-year-old Elena on the floor of the living room. The pink plaster cast on her arm and the white bandages on her forehead and collarbone stuck out against her black dress and black shoes. Sitting beside Elena was six-year-old Jeremy and three-year-old Katherine also dressed in a black suit and black dress – much like Damon and his younger brother Stefan. Out of the three children, Elena appeared the saddest. The younger ones played with toys but Elena just held her teddy bear and stared off into nothing._

_Damon swallowed when he noticed her red eyes – he hated when Elena cried._

_"Son, you're in charge of the children." Damon's father set eight-year-old Stefan on the floor beside Damon and patted the elder brother's shoulder. "I'm sure Alaric and Jenna Saltzman are busy with the guests and things."_

_"Yes, father." Damon nodded, not that he needed to be told to look after Elena or her siblings__―__he always did it anyway. Giuseppe joined the crowd of adults and Damon led Stefan by the other kids._

_"'Efan," Little Katherine was oblivious as she waved her block around. Stefan sat down somberly beside the girl, starting to entertain her with the blocs. Jeremy didn't say anything but it seemed he could sense what was going on. Damon took his place next to Elena and without a word the elder girl laid her head on Damon's arm._

_"They're gone, Damon," Elena whimpered softly._

_"I'm sorry," Damon wanted to take her sadness away but he didn't know how._

_"At least I still have you," Elena cried, sniffling. Damon swallowed. It felt strange at first but he wrapped his arms around her and didn't move. He was careful not to hurt her – after all, she hadn't even been out of the hospital for two days yet. Stupid car crash . . ._

_"I'll never leave you," Damon whispered into her ear as she cried. "I promise." His eyes found the big picture of Elena's parents on the easel and suddenly wondered if they were where his mother was . . ._

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Katherine stood on her front porch and waved as Elena drove off with Danny. They'd talked about the wedding – flowers, cake, decorations, dresses . . . they'd actually made a lot of progress.

Katherine frowned as Elena's minivan rounded the corner up ahead and disappeared from view. During their talk, she'd noticed that something was off with her older sister. Really, though, she'd been noticing it for quite a while and not just with Elena but with Damon as well.

Something was _definitely_ wrong.

All the years growing up, Damon and Elena had been inseparable. Sometimes to a strangely creepy degree – but inseparable nonetheless. So much so that they were closer to each other than Elena was with Katherine or Jeremy and strong than Damon and Stefan's brotherhood.

Lately, though, Katherine noticed that Damon and Elena were acting sort of strange. She couldn't quite put her finger on it . . . but she intended to figure out what it was and fix it.

She pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket and texted Stefan. She asked him to pick up some food on his way home because she needed to talk to him. Once that was sent, she put her phone back in her pocket and went back inside the house.

Something had to be done to fix whatever was going on with Damon and Elena – and Katherine was going to do everything in her power to figure this out.

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Not even ten minutes later, Stefan opened the door to his house – all the while juggling a box of pizza a carton of pasta. He'd found his fiancé's sudden request to talk strange but figured she'd explain when he got home.

"Baby, I got the food, " He called out as he entered the house.

"In the living room, honey," He heard Katherine's voice call out.

He put the food on the dining room table and made his way to the living room. He found his fiancé pacing back and forth with her hands on her hips. He could immediately sense that something was bothering her. The crease in her brow, the frown on her face, the speed of her pacing . . .

"Kath, what's wrong?" He tensed, worried.

She stopped pacing, sighing. "It's Elena and Damon."

"Wait, what?" Stefan panicked, his hands resting on her shoulders. "Are they hurt? Is it one of the kids?"

"I don't know, " Katherine shrugged. "There's just something . . . I can't figure it out. "

Stefan cleared his throat. "Kath, you're not making any sense."

She let out a breath. "Haven't you noticed? They're different – my sister and your brother. We've known them our whole lives – there's something wrong. "

Stefan was taken aback – he hadn't noticed anything at all about Damon and Elena. Sure, Damon was gone on another business trip but he was always gone. That wasn't anything new. "Are you sure?" He said. "They've seemed fine." His hands dropped from her arms.

"Come on, haven't you seen it?" Katherine pressed.

"Seen what?" Stefan said.

Katherine let out another sigh, deflated. "I'm not sure . . . but I know there's definitely something there. Elena was here this morning to go over wedding stuff and she was just . . . gone. She wasn't herself at all. It's been almost two weeks since I've heard from her. And when we called to tell her about us . . . I dunno. There was just something in her voice. Something . . . sad. "

"Well that's just Elena," Stefan shrugged. "She's always been a little bit emotional. Not to mention, she's given birth four times. Isn't there some kind of hormonal imbalance that goes along with that?"

"I guess, but . . ." Katherine shook her head. "I can just tell, okay? I can't explain it. I know my sister . . . and she's not herself. "

"Hmm." Stefan knew better than to test the infamous Elena/Katherine sister-bond. "We'll look into it, okay?" He wound his arms around her waist and kissed her sweetly.

"Thank you, baby. " Katherine sighed. She wrapped her own arms around his neck. "I just . . . Damon and Elena have been there for us so much over the years. Now, I guess it's time we return the favor and help them out. "

"We will." Stefan nodded, kissing her again.

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Damon was busy at his desk going through paperwork when his cell phone rang. He picked it up – it was Stefan. He let out a sigh – whether from annoyance of being disturbed or disappointment it wasn't Elena or a combination of both . . .

He answered the phone, a bit of an uncontrollable growl in his voice. "What is it Stefan?"

"Good to hear from you to, big brother." Stefan chuckled.

Damon let out a deep breath. Neither his brother nor his sister-in-law knew about Damon and Elena's marital problem and honestly they didn't need to. "Sorry, little bro. Just . . . too much work." He tried his best at a chuckle but it didn't come out very convincing. Hopefully Stefan wouldn't notice. "You know how it is."

"As usual, huh? I just wanted to check in. These trips always cut into our brotherly bonding over drinks at the Grill. So . . . how's it going in NY?"

Damon sighed, rubbing his neck. "Long. Endless meetings with just back and forth negotiations. Oh, and lots of paperwork."

"Sounds like fun," Stefan chuckled and Damon could hear the sarcasm. "So glad you're the big brother and you get all that . . . I'm good just writing for the newspaper."

Damon rolled his eyes – of course he was. "So was that it, brother or . . . I haven't slept much in the last four weeks."

"Oh, yeah . . . a bit of news from back home." Stefan cleared his throat. "I finally proposed to Katherine!"  
Damon's stomach jumped up his throat. No . . .

"She said yes, of course – not that I had any doubts." Stefan announced. "Anyway, Kath asked Elena to be her Matron of Honor and I'd be supremely honored if my big brother would be my Best Man."

No way . . .

"What do you think bro?"

Damon swallowed his throat and gulped. "Y-Yeah. Of course I'll do it." He faked a laugh. "Shit, little brother – It took you long enough. I thought you'd make that girl of yours wait forever."

"Eh, I figured it was about time." Stefan laughed. "Anyway, I guess our girls are already starting the planning but I thought maybe you could help Elena too. Kath and I – you guys mean a lot to us, you know? You and Elena have helped us through a lot of shit."

"I remember . . ." Damon sighed. His head hurt just thinking about it. Drug addictions, trouble with crazy exes, alcohol, loan sharks, ugh . . .

"Yeah, so you guys throwing the wedding and reception parties would really mean so much to us." Stefan said. "Hey, how much longer do you have to stay in NYC?"

Damon let out a breath, holding his neck. The next few months were going to really put a number on his already annoying migraine problems. "Well, I have to stay until the merger pulls through and who knows how long that'll be."

"Just come home soon, brother. We all miss you." Stefan said. "Especially those kids of yours – they're such a handful!" The younger brother chuckled.

"Oh, I know – they must take after their uncle." Damon laughed. "Seriously, though, you guys will still help Elena with them. Right?"

"As if they were our own," Stefan agreed. "We'd do anything for you and Elena and the kids. You know that, right?"

"Thanks, brother." Damon said. He looked up – there was a new email from his assistant. "Look, I've got to go take care of something but I'll get home as soon as I can."

"Okay," Stefan said. "Anything you need, call – day or night. Kath and I'll drop everything. I mean it."

"Yep." Damon nodded and hung up his phone.

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Katherine looked up from her textbook as Stefan walked in the room. "Well?"

Stefan let out a breath, collapsing on the couch beside her. His hand found hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You're right, babe. There's something up with Damon too."

She sighed, pushing the book aside. Her head leaned on his shoulder. "What are we going to do?"

Stefan shrugged. "I haven't a clue. But we have to do something." Katherine nodded, sighing.

_To Be Continued_


End file.
